Collateral damage from the fireworks

To the Editor:

We have just seen — and heard — another one of these annual demonstrations of our pride with the waste of countless tons of explosives in the Fourth of July fireworks.

I can definitely see and appreciate the overwhelming beauty of the light show. But why can’t we, who are technologically so incredibly skilled, cut out the threatening, terrifying noise that goes with it?

I have been told that some people even find the (literally) deafening noise part of the fun of the celebration. Maybe it symbolizes our power? “Bombs bursting in air,” indeed. So long as we are not on the receiving end. And so long as we know exactly that this earsplitting noise and lightning isn’t threatening us.

But I wonder how this affects the countless vets who are back from our recent wars and have heard more than their share?

These days, I stay home and put on music when the fireworks start; but I can’t forget how I once saw a cat dash across a street and be killed by a car, literally scared to death by the noise. And another time, I barely missed hitting a large dog on Massachusetts Avenue in D.C., who was crazed with fear from the noise all around.

And when I briefly turned to the news last night, there was a report from New Hampshire about a scared bear who ran down a street, then tried to hide in a tree, and was promptly shot dead by the forces of law and order. Can anyone imagine how it must have felt? Burnt sacrifice, huh?

How many more victims of our jubilation were there last night?

Brigitte Lent
Edgartown